My daughter’s most requested summer dish is Caprese salad, so we eat copious amounts of it for one quarter of the year. She loves the delicateness of mozzarella, combined with the sweetness of fresh tomatoes and fragrant basil. It’s extra special when we drizzle a little balsamic glaze on top. I put a spin on this beloved Italian dish and combined the beauty of summer flavors with the decadence of puff pastry. Additionally, it’s quick to whip up and only takes a few ingredients.

(For the basil vinaigrette, I use a Gaby Dalkin recipe. I promise that once you make this, you will forever always need to have a jar of it ready to go in the fridge. It literally goes with everything (mixed in rice, topped on chicken or fish, as a dressing for roasted potatoes – the options are endless.) and its flavor is unmatched. Click the link for the recipe: https://whatsgabycooking.com/basil-vinaigrette/)

Caprese Puff Pastry Bites: (Makes 18)

Ingredients:

• 1 package of 2 sheets puff pastry
• Basil Vinaigrette https://whatsgabycooking.com/basil-vinaigrette/
• 9 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
• 18 pieces of 1 cm cubed mozzarella
• Salt to taste
• Balsamic glaze (I purchase mine from Trader Joe’s, but is sold in most grocery stores)

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Thaw each puff pastry sheet and roll out to approximately a 9”x12” rectangle. Using a round cookie cutter with a diameter of about 3”, cut out 9 rounds from each puff pastry sheet, totaling 18. Tuck each round into a mini-muffin tin. With a fork, lightly poke holes on the bottom of each puff pastry cup.

Add 1 teaspoon of the basil vinaigrette to each puff pastry cup, then add a piece of mozzarella and cherry tomato half. Add a pinch of salt to each one.

Bake for 12-14 minutes until the puff pastry is golden brown. While baking, some of the filling will leak out, but once you remove it from the oven, simply tuck it back in with a fork. Allow to cool slightly before enjoying as the tomato becomes especially hot. Once removed from the muffin tin, drizzle with a little balsamic glaze. Buon appetito!